Paper cleaning machine



fFeb. 2 0, 1934, VAN WQRMER 1,947,748

PAPER CLEANING MAC'HINE "Filed Nov. 12, 1931 s sheets-sheet' 1 @als v1 wl gwtwntoz: 1

Feb. v20, 1934. G. VAN woRMl-:R

PAPER CLEANING MACHINE Filed NOV s sheets-sheet 2 G. VAN WORMER1,947,748

PAPER CLEANING MACHINE Filed Nov. 12, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Feb. 20,1934.

NW mw ww sw Pv O Q@ u m s w b9 Y l Wm E @n ww Patented Feb. 20, 1934UNITED STATESv PATENT` OFFICE PAIER CLEANING IHACHINEv George VanWormer, Hamilton, Ohio l Application November 12, 1931 Serial No.574,626

3 Claims.

The invention relates to cleaning machines, and particularly to amachine for cleaning paper in rolls or sheets, to remove dust andadhering particles, and for other treatments.

The machine is of special use to printers in preparing fine stock foruse in presses on fine work, to reduce linting of machinery and to avoidiiaws in the work such as white spots due to particles becominginterposed between paper and type or plates, dropping of ink-coveredbers or paper particles on the work, and improving the output of thepresses generally.

It is an aim to present a machine adapted to be operated byinexperienced operatives in an extremely simple manner and with aminimum liability of derangement or excessive wear.

It is also a purpose to enable the construction of such a machine in asimple form and at a low cost. Another purpose is to present a novelconstruction in the relation and operation of the feed rolls andcleaning brushes. It is also sought to present a novel construction andarrangement in the pneumatic conveyor devices and housings.

A further .purpose is to evolve a novel structure for the mounting ofthe rolls and brushes in the cleaning unit.

Additional objects, advantages and features of invention reside in theconstruction, arrangement and combination of parts involved in theembodiment of the invention, as will be understood from the followingdescription and accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a sideelevation of the-machine.

Figure 2 is a top view of the machine with parts broken away.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary longitudinal section showing a schematic viewof the beltin'g system for the brushes and feed rolls in the cleaningsection, showing also the cleaning chamber in section, and pneumaticconveyor connections therewith.

Figure 4 is a cross section of the machine.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary top view of the belting system at the brushesand feed rolls of the cleaning unit.

Figure 6 is a detail of the mounting of the brushes and rolls of thecleaning chamber.

Figure 'i' is a detail section of the tape boards.

There is illustrated a machine comprising a. frame' 10, includinglongitudinal side strings 11, supported by legs l2, and including suchcross members 13 as desired. y

At the paper-receiving end of the machine a transverse plain cylindricalroll 14 is mounted in saddle bearings 15 secured to the upper sides of'the strings 11. Mounted on standards 16 at each side of the machinethere is a transverse shaft a distance above the roll 14, and on thisthere are swingingly mounted friction `rolls or wheels 17 havingrubberor other suitable facings andbearing-upon the roll v`'14 at theupper vside thereof. Asecondfeed roll-1 8 similar to the one 14 exceptlthat it is providedjiwith aseries of grooves is similarly mounted onthe" side mem. bers ofthe frame, located a] distance inwardly 65 of theone 14, andraroundthe vtwo rolls 14 and 18 a series of 'endless'tapes'19I are extended,

adapted to'serveasa support forlthe paper fed-"vk I to the machine,`whichpaper enters between the A. -1 roll 14 and the wheels 17. A tapetightening roll 'IQ l',

20 is mounted intermediately of the rolls .14 and 18 and at a lowerlevel in the frame 10, engaging the tapes 19. The number of tapes 19 isvdetermined by the maximum width of the paper to be treated in themachine and the spacing ofthe tapes. Extending longitudinally of themachine between the rolls 14 and 18 there are tape boards 21, one underand supporting each tape adjacent the level of the tops of the rolls 14and 18 respectively, being slightly wider than the tapes, and theirouter edge portions being formed with longitudinal V-shaped ribs 22, sothat the paper will be frictionally retarded in a minimum degree when itengages with the faces of the boards. Friction wheels 17 similar tothose first described are mounted to bear upon the roll 18.

A cleaning chamber 25 is formed in the machine, extending transverselyof the frame irrimediately inward of the roll 18, and including sets ofrolls and brushes as will be described. Immediately beyond and to therear of the cleaningchamber 25 a third feed roll 26 similar to the one18 is mounted on the frame, and spaced further to the rear from thecleaning chamber there is another plain roll 27, tape boards 28 beingextended 95 between the rolls 26 and 27, and a tape tightening roll 29is mounted below and intermediate the rolls 26 and 2'?. Endless tapes 30are engaged around the rolls 26, 27 and 29. Immediately adjacent and tothe rear of the roll 27`another 100 slightly larger feed roll 31 issimilarly mounted, its larger size being designed to effect more rapidmovement of stock in discharge. At the delivery end of the machine afinal feed roll 32 of the same size as the one 31 is mounted, a set oftapes 33 105 being engaged around these two rolls and an intermediatetightening roll 34. The tapes 19, 30 and 33 are in alined series. Ashort distance inward of the first roll 14, an upper roll35 is mountedtransversely of the machine on brackets 36'set 110 upon the side members1l, and a similar roll 37 is mounted just beyond the roll 31 toward thedelivery end of the machine. Around these two rolls there are engaged aseries of endless strands 38 of cat gut, or other suitable material,their lower reaches passing adjacent or at the levelof the tapes'carriedon the lower rollers and their which they are belted together by roundbelt 41.

The rolls 14 and 27 have sprocket wheels 42 thereon receiving chains 43from sprockets 44 on counter shafts 45 in the lower part of the frame,these being driven from the motor 46.

A longitudinally arranged series of pedestals 47 are mounted on theupper edges of the side members 11, and in each there is revolublymounted a vertical screw 48 having right hand threads at the lower partand left hand threads on the upper part, a hand wheel being providedatthe top of each screw.

The pedestals have vertical guide-Ways at their inner sides in whichthere are slidable bearing blocks 49 provided at their inner sides withstep bearings 50 receiving respective shafts 51l oi brush. or feed rollsto be described. The blocks are threaded through their outer parts toreceive the screws 48, there being one block on the upper part of eachscrew, and one on the lower part of each i' screw. By rotation of anyscrew 48 the blocks 49 thereon may be drawn together or separated, asrequired, both moving commonly from or toward an intermediate level. Theouter sides of the pedestals are vertically slotted a distance, and eachblock has engaged in its outer side a hand set screw 52 extendingthrough the outer slot of the pedestal and having a hand wheel thereon.

Seven pedestals are shown at each side of the machine, and in these arealternated feed rolls 53 and rotary cleaning brushes 54, each pedestalcarrying two rolls or brushes of similar function, coacting on aninterposed sheet when the machine is in use. There are four rolls andthree brushes in each horizontal series, the brushes and rollsalternating. Mounted suitably: in the bearing blocks of the brushesthere are clearing rods 55 arranged to be engaged by the extremities ofthe bristles of the respective brushes so that dirt gathered thereonwill be dislodged in rotation of the brush. The rods are over the upperbrushes, and under the lower ones. The brushes are of slightly greaterdiameter than the diameter of the rolls 53, although this is notmaterial as the brushes can always be adjusted independently for properaction on the paper to be cleaned. The bristles are preferably good hogbristles, a fairly heavy Siberian bristle of three-quarters of an inchlength having beenused with good effect, although it may be founddesirable to vary the stiffness or use other materials to suit differentkinds of materials cleaned. A substantial portion of the shafts 51 ofall the brushes and rolls are exposed at the right hand side of themachine which is the side shown in Figure 1, and on these shaft endsthere l are provided grooved pulleys 60 in suiiicient number to enablebelting of the rolls and brushes as at 61 to rotate as desired.v Forthis drive, two

round belts 56-57 are shown running from suitable pulleys 58 on thecounter shaft 45. Belt 56 is crossed between the counter shaft ln Ordert0 memes enable operation of the upper set of brushes and rolls and thelower set in opposite directions so that their peripheries move in thesame direction next the path of paper being cleaned. Idler pul= leys v59are mounted below the cleanerchamber, a little in advance of a" direct.line between the counter shaft 45 and the nrst rolls of the cleaningchamber. The counter shaft rotatesclock- 'Wise as viewed from the right,which is the same as the direction of all the lower rolls and brushes inthe machine. In order to effect better emciency in the drive, the belt56 is run from the top of its drive pulley 58 to the front side of thefirst `upper brush pulley from below thence upward and rearwardly overthis pulley to the last upper 90 brush pulley, thence down and forwardlyover a pulley 59, and thence to thedrive pulley 58 again. The4 belt 57is run from the bottom of the drive pulley 58 to the first lower brushpulley, thence to the rear lowerbrush and forward and downward aroundthe idler 59 back to the drive pulley. AThe brushes and rolls areinterconnected by short belts'6l in the upper and lower series so thatall upper brushes and rolls turn counter clockwise andthe lower seriesclockwise. 1

That is to say, the first and the last brush pulley 60 in each series isconnected to thepulleys 60 on the next adjacent feedrolls by respectiveshort belts 6l passing around only the two mutually adjacent pulleys,while the central brush pulley 60 is connected by a similarbelt 61 to apulley 60 on the shaft of the next adjacent feed roll. On the shaft 51of the first and last brushes in each series, therefore, there are threepulleys 60 in each instance, one to receive 116 the belt 56 or 57 as thecase may be, and two for the respective belts 61 to next adjacent feedrolls, while one` of the inner feed rolls in each series has two pulleys60, one by which it is belted to the louter brush, and the other bywhich it is belted to the inner brush. The other feed rolls and thecentral brush have but one pulley 60 on their respective shafts. In thisway, removal of any of the brushes or rolls from itsseries will involvethe removal of only simple short belts, all easily accessibleimmediately at the pulleys, except in the case of one of the outerbrushes where a simple loop of the belt 56 or 57 is to be manipulated.The replacements of the belts in no instance require twisting orpeculiar tortuous arrangement, so that there is a minimum liability ofincorrect replacement.

The enclosure of the cleaning chamber consists of the bottom pan 65,having an air inlet port 66 at the left hand side, openingy through thebottom'67 of this pan. The bottom is apertured to pass the belts 56 and57 with a moderate clearance. The ends of the pan have upward extensions68 close beside the bearing blocks 49, and front and rear side walls 69are extended upwardly between the-rolls 18 and 53, and 26 and 53respectively. 'Ihese walls, have outwardly turned edges or lips 70 whichmay rest against or lie close to the gut stringsV 38 and 77 supportingthe paper as it enters the cleaning chamber. 146 The top section of thecleaning chamber comprises a hood 71 mounted and constructed with endand side wallsto aline with those of the bottom pan, its end walls beingslotted to receive the shafts of the rolls andbrushes 53-54. 145

The gut-strings 38 pass over the hood, and are located at close'intervals for some work. The hood has a top wall 72 through which thereopen a multiplicity of small nues 73, which may be ovate in crosssection with the major of the oval extending longitudinally of themachine. These flues are located at intervals of about four inches asheretofore practiced. The ues 73 lead through the bottom wall of amanifold T 74, from the upper side of which there leads a iiue 75, inwhich a suction fan 76 may be located at a suitable point.

A number of endless gut strings 77 may also be engaged around the tworollers 18 and 26, and idler pulleys or rolls 18 and 26 below, the upperreaches of these guts extending through the cleaning chamber to supportthe lower side of paper passing therethrough. It may be found desirablein some cases to omit these strings, as the suction in the upper part ofthe cleaning chamber will tend to draw the paper upward against the gutstrings 38 which will hold it in proper alinement.

Guide bars 78 are mounted at each side of the machine as required,arrangedto engage the e es of sheets passing through the machine, tohold them properly in line' with the rolls and brushes.

In the chamber 25 there are mounted manifold high pressure air pipes 79running fore and aft or parallel to the path of the paper, there beingfour of these pipes, two'being located at near each end of the chamberabove and below the brushes 54. On these pipes are mounted jet nozzles80 to discharge air from the pipes and projected toward the plane orpath of paper passing through the machine. The ends of these nozzles areturned so as to direct air toward the paper and between the brushes androlls at such inclination as to lift particles away from the paper atthe upper side, and move such particles downwardly from the lower sideof the paper, so that they may be carried readily to the flue by thedraft drawn outward by the fan 76. Air may be supplied to the pipes 79by any suitable compressor device, not shown.

At the rear end of the machine, upper tape wheels 81 are mounted overthe last roll 32, and tapes 82 may be extended from these wheels and therolls 32 to any desired point where a laboy or other stacking orreceiving device may be located.

In use, the motor 46 and fan 76 being in operation and the air jetsoperated, paper is supplied to the cleaning machine by hand or machineby being entered between the roll 14 and the wheels 17. From there itquickly passes through the opening between hood and pan to the roll 35whence it is carried between the tapes 19 and gut strings 38 to thecleaning chamber 25. Here it becomes engaged between the rst two rolls53 and is quickly passed between the brushes and succeeding rolls untilit passes out of the cleaning chamber between the hood and bottom pan tothe rolls 26 and-tapes 30. The operation of the fan 76 draws air rapidlyinward through the inlet port 66, while the jets 80 project air towardthe paper between the brushes and rolls.

When a sheet is engaged entirely across the chamber 25, the air passestoward the right hand side of the machine, where it moves upwardlybetween the shafts 51 and to the flues 73 to the manifold 74 and conduitflue 75. The brushes quickly loosen any dust and dirt or loose particleson the paper, and the air passing through the chamber as describedcarries such matter with it, through flue 75, as will be readilyappreciated.

I claim:

l. A paper cleaning machine comprising a casing, means to move thinpaper web into, across and out of the casing including substantiallycontinuous paper supporting means above and below lthe path of the paperin the casing, paper brushing devices therein arranged and includingexceedingly attenuated and flexible paper surface engaging members toengage a moving sheet in the casing, means to exhaust air from thecasing, and air inlet means to admit air to the casing in such locationthat an air current will be formed across the surface of paper movingthrough the machine,

whereby the air current will entrain the detritus without passingthrough the webmaterially.

2. A paper cleaning machine comprising acasing, means to move thin paperweb into, across and out of the casing, paper brushing devices thereinarranged to engage a moving sheetyin the casing, means to exhaust airfrom the casing and air inlet means to admit air to the casing wherebythe air currents will entrain the detritus, said means to move the paperincluding means to move the paper through the case with one edge closeto a side of the case and the opposite edge spaced fromthe opposite sideof the case, the said inlet means being close to said rst named side ofthe case and at the opposite side of the paper from the exhaust.

3. A paper cleaning machine comprising a cleaning chamber, amultiplicity of upper and lower opposed sets of feed rolls adapted toco-engage upon and feed paper between the sets, and alternated rotarybrushes arranged to engage the paper between the rolls, meansvto rotatethe rolls, and means to rotate the brushes in the same direction withthe adjacent rolls at a higher speed,

said rolls and brushes including mounting shafts projecting a materiallygreater distance at one end than at the other, the chamber having an endwall close to the brushes and rolls, and an opposite wall spaced amaterial distance from them, whereby to form a wide space for passage ofair, said chamber having a bottom spaced below the rolls and brushes andhaving an air inlet port near the rst named -wall of the chamber, saidchamber having an air outlet in its upper part and means tov exhaust airthrough the outlet.

GEO. VAN WORMER.

DI SCI-Al M E R l,947,748.-Ge0rge Van Wormer, Hamilton, Ohio. PAPERCLEANING MACHINE.

Patent dated February 20, 1934.

by the patentee.

Disclaimer filed September 26, 1938,

Hereby enters this disclaimer to the part of claim l and claim 2 thatrelates to the paper brushing devices arranged to engage a moving sheet,except where the brushes are made of a fairly heavy hog bristle and arearranged to rotate in the direction in which the sheet is moving; andthat part of claim 3 that relates to rotary brushes except where theyare made of a fairly heavy hog bristle.

[Oficial Gazette (Pctober 18, 1938.]

